Policing

Democratic Policing Globally

Professor Of Police Science, John Jay College Of Criminal Justice

Key Findings

Police agencies in other countries had higher standards for recruitment and selection than U.S. police agencies.

Abroad, policing is more focused on training time than policing in the United States.

The policing topics covered in basic training abroad are more standardized and focused in the liberal arts than police training in the United States, which is not standardized.

Policing in the United States offers less specialized and advanced training than police agencies abroad.

There are higher expectations for graduates of police training programs abroad than the expectations of graduates of U.S. police training programs, which only requires a C average to pass.

Description

In the article, “Comparative Policing Revisited: The Struggle toward Democracy in the 21st Century,” Haberfeld examines policing in different democratic countries around the world to determine views on policing practices. To conduct her research, Haberfeld examined the standards and practices of police agencies in five democratic countries (Turkey, the Republic of Georgia, Japan, Finland, and the Netherlands) to compare and contrast to the U.S. policing system. Her analysis showed that police agencies in most of the other countries examined had higher standards for recruitment and selection than police agencies in the United States. Abroad, policing is more focused on training than policing in the United States. The policing topics covered in basic training abroad were more standardized and focused in the liberal arts than U.S. police training, which is not standardized. Policing in the United States also offers less specialized and advanced training than police agencies abroad. Finally, there are higher expectations for graduates of police training programs abroad than the expectations of graduates of U.S. police training programs, which only requires a C average to pass. In conclusion, Haberfeld notes that recruitment and selection processes of police officers in the United States needs to become more rigorous to compete with those of police agencies in other democratic countries.